Conservative MP reveals novel approach to dealing with Laura Pidcock

Gillian Keegan is making a concerted effort to force her Labour opponent to be friendly.

When Labour MP Laura Pidcock called Conservatives “the enemy” and declared that[1] she had “absolutely no intention of being friends with any of them”, many Tory MPs were quick to stick the boot in

“I feel genuinely sorry for someone so narrow minded they can't have friends with different opinions. Some of my good mates are Labour MPs,” huffed Conor Burns.

And Nadine Dorries tweeted sarcastically: “She will make a great MP. How can she fail with her politics of hate and such a hands over the ears juvenile attitude.”

Now another Conservative MP has revealed a rather different strategy for dealing with the 29-year-old MP for North West Durham.

"Actually I met Laura Pidcock and said to her ‘that’s a silly thing to say’. She reckoned she didn’t say it," said Gillian Keegan, the recently-elected MP for Chichester.

And her next move?

“I make her say hello to me in the bar every time,” revealed Keegan, who has replaced the much-respected former chair of the Treasury Committee Andrew Tyrie.

Speaking to HuffPost UK[2], the Tory politician was also keen to stress her admiration for Labour MPs Meg Hillier and Margaret Hodge, whose book she just read. Keegan did not make it clear whether her attempts to force Pidcock to be friendly were bearing fruit yet...